Today we are taking a rest day at Fontana Village Resort just outside of Great Smoky Mountain National Park.
The last few weeks have been amazing. We have made so many new friends and are always meeting more.
Trail life is a very interesting thing. One particularly interesting part is the way that people’s paths diverge and then reconnect in the strangest of ways. Here is a story of one of those instances:
Mac and I had been hiking with two couples around the same age as us. They go by the names of Hustle & Flow and Tinder & Birch. We got along great and had fun spending time in camp together.
After a few days in the woods together we began to approach the town of Hiawassee, Georgia. We all had different plans and went our separate ways not knowing if we would see each other again.
Mac and I headed to the Top of Georgia hostel for a shower and a warm bed. To our surprise Tinder and Birch showed up and we all decided that we would head into town together the next morning for breakfast and groceries.
Getting a ride into town was easy. The hostel owner dropped us off and wished us luck. When we were done with our chores we decided we would try our hand at hitching a ride. And failed. Birch and I hid behind the boys while they timidly threw their thumbs in the air. We were novices.
We casually continued strolling toward the edge of town hoping a kind stranger would pick us up and drive us the 11 miles back to the trail. After a short while we stumbled upon a gear shop about the size of my mothers closest. The man behind the counter invited us in to take a look around and offered to call a friend of his to give us a ride. He says he can be there in twenty minutes, he just has to pick up two other hikers along the way. We thank the shop owner as he warns us that his friend looks suspiciously like Santa Claus.
A short while later Santa pulls up to the store in a large white pick up truck. As we walk over I look into the cab of the truck and realize that the two other hikers are none other than Hustle and Flow!
We all exchange smiles as Tinder, Birch, Mac and I climb into the back of the truck and we head back to the trail, reunited.
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